Page 23 - Cliff Jacobson - Knots for the Outdoors

reading the accompanying text. You don’t need to know any of these “rope terms” to
understand the illustrations or descriptions. Nonetheless, no knot book would be complete
without the basic nomenclature, which you may commit to memory or disregard.

How to Care for Your New Rope

Abrasion is the kiss of death, so keep your ropes clean. I wash mine once a year in a sudsy tub
of liquid detergent. Then I coil and air-dry my ropes and store them in a cool, dry place.

Tip: To remove the “memory” of store-bought coils, slightly stretch a new rope (tie it off
tight between trees) for an hour or two. An old snagged rope may forget its windings if you
soak it briefly in water then administer the stretch treatment.
All ropes, natural and synthetic, are injured to some extent by ultra-violet light. Keep your
ropes out of the sun as much as possible.